Video: Mississippi Department of Mental Health Lawsuit

by Victoria Bailey

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)—Depression.  Anxiety.  Bi-polar.  These are just a few of the illnesses that make up the broad spectrum of mental health.

In fact, 1 in 5 people will experience mental health issues in their lifetime.

Services in Mississippi have been cut by the state legislature.

And the beds in state run mental health facilities  are full.

As we first reported last night, The U.S. Justice department is suing Mississippi for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit says the resources are not available for people who need them and that many patients are being admitted to the hospital when it’s just not necessary.

Martha Allen with Community Counseling says,” and in many cases most people do not ever need to be hospitalized”

Every day Martha Allen with Community Counseling works to make sure local people know there are local resources available.

Allen says,”With a therapist with a care advocate with a DR. with an organization like community counseling with family support you can live a full and productive life so it’s important for people to understand that their community health care provider needs to be their number one stop someone who is suffering from a mental health illness there are options the hospital is not the first place to go.”

Allen says the counselors she works with want to help people with mental illness gain the skills they need so they have the ability to stay in their community.

Allen says,” learn how to care for themselves where they learn how to deal with conflict. Where they learn how to do basic life things that you and I do every day but yet it’s ok for them to go home at night.”

Allen goes on to say Mississippi uses 68 percent more funding to hospitalize people with mental illness compared to 28 percent in other states.